Knowledge Beyond Their Years
by CubsKing
Summary: Most people wouldn't believe his life story. Then again, she's not most people. MiniJack aka Mac /Jessi
1. Who Really Cares About Calculus?

Spoilers: Kyle XY, AU after Season 2, with some non-spoiler references to "powers" from Season 3. Stargate SG-1 through 7x03 – Fragile Balance, with some slight spoiler-y references to some events in later seasons.

Pairing: Mac (MiniJack – SG1) & Jessi (Kyle XY)

Author Notes: For more background on who Mac is, look at my story "Preserving the Fragile Balance," though this is unrelated to any other stories using that as a base. This story takes place about 2 years after Fragile Balance. Thanks to my betas, Elizabeth and Curuchamion.

~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~

Jessi was bored. High school math was _way_ too easy for her. Compared to advanced cryptography, calculus seemed like child's play. Nevertheless, here she was. Mountain Springs High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado was a nice enough place, she supposed. Jessi wasn't really much of the social type, so she hadn't actually made any friends, but everyone seemed to at least treat her kindly. As a new girl in town, she was still adjusting to the move. There was no personality download this time to help her acclimate. She was excited to get to know her mother better, so for that reason she was willing to make the effort..

While she was mulling things over in her head, Jessi was making idle notes in her binder. It wasn't until she heard a small gasp from behind her that she looked at what she'd been doing. Scrawled across the top sheet of paper were a series of formulas. She didn't immediately know what they were for, or why they were in her head, but she was pretty sure it didn't have anything to do with finding an area under a curve using an integral. Or whatever else it was the teacher was prattling on about today.

A note was quickly shoved onto the back corner of her desk from the student behind her. Jessi had seen him before but never really noticed him. He was a little taller than she was, with shaggy, sandy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. His name was escaping her at the moment, though she wasn't sure that they'd ever actually been introduced. She grabbed the note and took a quick look. All it said was, '#1 - Heisenberg uncertainty principle?'

Jessi was quite surprised. As she looked at her scribbles, she did vaguely remember something in quantum physics that looked like the first equation. As a realization came to her about the second equation as well, she quickly made another note and passed it back.

The boy sitting behind Jessi was shocked when he read the return note '2 = Schrödinger's Equation for a single particle in 3 dimensions.' Before he could stop himself, he scratched out another quick note and handed it back. As he handed it off, his brain went into overdrive.

Jessi didn't react to his note at first. It took her a moment to realize what he meant when he said 'The guy with the cat?' When it finally clicked, she had to stifle a giggle.

A moment later, another note came forward. 'What's the third one?' it asked. Jessi thought about it for a moment before writing her reply.

'Not sure,' it said. 'It looks like it's based on spacetime theory. I think it's a formula for wormhole based faster than light travel."

Before the boy could finish reading the note and respond, the bell rang to end the school day. As the class rose to leave, the teacher called out "Jessi, Mac, I'd like to speak with you."

As Jessi slowly picked up her books, she noticed the boy behind her was being just as deliberate. As she approached the teacher's desk, she saw that the young man behind her was doing the same.

"What were you two discussing?" the man asked as they both stood in front of his desk.

"Nothing, sir," Mac quickly responded, earning him a frown.

"I saw you two passing notes at the end of the class. I also didn't fail to notice the far away looks I was getting during the rest of the period. Now, let me see your notes," he persisted.

"Mr. Riemann, with all due respect, it wasn't that important. I promise it won't happen again, sir," Mac placated him.

"Yeah, sorry," Jessi added.

"All right. Since you two are doing so well with the homework and quizzes, I'll let it go for now. But if I catch you again, I won't be so lenient," the teacher stated.

"Yes, sir," Mac responded in an almost military manner.

"Thanks, Mr. Riemann," Jessi echoed.

Jessi left the room quickly but had only gone a few steps before she felt a presence next to her as the other student rapidly caught up.

"I thought we were in trouble there for a minute," Mac said. "If he took those notes, there's no way we'd have been able to explain it. How _do_ you know all of that stuff?"

"I don't know," she lied. "I just do."

"Bull. I don't buy that," Mac rebutted.

Jessi turned to face him, her eyes instantly radiating anger. "I don't care what you think. You don't know me. You don't know anything about me."

"Whoa," Mac exclaimed, throwing his hands up and channeling his inner Daniel. "I think we got off on the wrong foot. Let's try this again. Hi. My name's Mac," he offered, giving his best grin and his hand to shake, hoping to appease some of her anger.

It didn't work. "What makes you think I _want_ to know you?" Jessi snarled, still seething.

"Alright, let me tell you what I do know about you," Mac responded. "I know you're new here. You obviously know more about math and science than just about anyone I've ever met. You're a loner, though whether by choice or due to circumstances beyond your control, I can't tell yet. And you're bored stiff here, always thinking about something else you should be doing."

Jessi was astounded by how well this stranger could read her. She stopped walking and took a moment to look him over again. "You were describing yourself, too, weren't you?" she blurted out. With the brief flicker of pain in his eyes that was gone almost before she could register it, Jessi knew she was right, even though he didn't answer.

After a minute of weighing her options, Jessi knew what to do. She didn't have Kyle or the Tragers to confide in anymore. He seemed to be intelligent, honest, and well-intentioned. Jessi gave him a shy smile, stuck her hand out, and said, "I'm Jessi.. Nice to meet you, Mac."

His face again broke into a big grin as he grabbed her hand to shake. As he did, he felt her press hard, trying to show she was stronger. He decided two could play at that game and increased the pressure of his grip.

Jessi wasn't expecting him to engage her in a contest of strength. Never one to back down from a challenge, though, she continued to squeeze tighter. He did the same. After a few moments, both of their eyes were blazing with the challenge. Neither one wanted to concede that the other was hurting them.

After almost a minute, Mac came to his senses. He was in the middle of a crowded hallway engaged in a pointless battle of strength. And he was running late.

"Alright, I give," he finally conceded. By her look of elation at winning their little contest, Mac knew he'd just found a kindred spirit. Someone who never backed down and didn't want to lose at _anything_.

"Hey," he said, "I've got to run to Cross Country practice. I still want to talk to you about that math stuff, though."

"How far are you running?" Jessi queried.

"Um, about 6 miles, I guess," Mac responded.

"Can I join you?" she continued.

"Uh, sure," he responded.

"OK. I'll just run the rest when I get home," she informed him.

"The rest?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"Yeah, I'll do another 7 or 8 this evening before I start working out," she informed him.

"And I thought Basic was hard," he mumbled.

~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~

Published 12-07-08

Updated 12-27-10


	2. Staying in Shape

Mac couldn't help but admire Jessi as she ran. They were traveling at a 6 minute mile pace and she didn't seem to be even trying. She moved with an effortless grace. Her mind was obviously elsewhere, too.

"What else tonight?" Mac asked.

"I'm sorry?" Jessi returned, coming back from her own thoughts.

"You said you'd run again before you work out tonight. What else are you planning on doing after running 13 miles?" Mac clarified.

"Oh," was all Jessi said for a few moments. She tried to decide what to tell him that he would believe. She wasn't sure how he'd react if she told him she was planning to walk on water, free climb and jump off buildings, and lift stones by manipulating gravity.

"Strength training," she finally answered. It was mostly true. She did need to build up her strength to be able to continue to do the feats she wanted to accomplish.

"Like what?" Mac pressed.

"A thousand push ups, a hundred pull-ups, and some martial arts forms and target practice," she rejoined.

Mac let out a low whistle. "Impressive."

"It's an off day today," she retorted.

"Hey, I've been looking for a sparring partner. What style of martial arts do you practice?" Mac enquired.

"Oh, bits and pieces from several. Mostly Tae Kwon Do," Jessi explained.

"Yeah, I use techniques from several disciplines, too. Want to have a go some time?" he invited.

"How about tonight?" Jessi came back.

"It's a date, then," Mac acknowledged quickly. As the words left his mouth, he realized what he'd just said.

Jessi stopped where she was, causing the pack running a few feet behind their leaders to scatter in order to avoid ramming into her. Mac had gone a few steps further and had to turn around to look at her. After several seconds, the look of shock on Jessi's face was replaced by the hint of a smile, one that kept expanding for several more seconds. "It's a date," she finally confirmed with a bright smile.

When Mac returned the grin, she took off again at a dead run.

"Well," she called back over her shoulder, "let's get this run done so we can get on with the fun." Without waiting for a response, she raced on, leaving everyone in her dust.

~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~

Mac had just finished his cool down and stretches when Jessi tore back onto the track. She did her own cool down lap and came over to Mac.

"Help me stretch?" she entreated. He willingly acquiesced.

"I take it you ran further than we did," Mac dryly observed.

"Yeah, I finished my run for the day so we can enjoy the evening," she admitted.

"Wait a minute!" Mac interjected. "You ran 13 miles in the time we ran 6?"

"Um," she paused, biting her lip a little. "I actually did 15. I felt so good, I just kept going."

Mac let out another whistle as he continued helping her stretch. "You know you were breaking world record times, right?"he asked incredulously.

A sudden look of panic crossed Jessi's face. "Don't tell anyone, please!" she adjured. "I don't want anyone to find out what I can do."

Mac was dumbfounded again. What else could this girl do? He had already seen her doodle quantum physics while she wasn't paying attention and run like a gazelle. She was obviously hiding something else, too. Before he could let his thoughts wander too far, Mac put on a sincere look. "I won't tell anyone for now," he promised, "but you have to be honest with me. What are you so scared of?"

"I can't tell you here. Not now," she begged.

"Alright," Mac agreed. "Come with me. Let's go someplace secure."

"There's nowhere they can't find me," Jessi warned, fear still playing across her face.

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Mac cryptically stated. Without further ado, he helped Jessi up and led her to his truck.

As he opened her door, she resisted. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere very secure," he replied again.

"I'm not getting in until you tell me," she demanded.

"Well, first we're going for a cup of coffee," he retorted. "Then we're going to my apartment to talk. It's about the most secure location this side of … the Springs."

Mac was surprised at himself. He had almost slipped up and said something about the SGC. What was it about this girl that made him trust her so much?

"Alright," she finally acceded. "Let me call my mother and let her know what I'm doing."

~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~

Published 12-07-08

Updated 12-27-10


	3. Quirks of Personalities

After a quick stop at Starbucks, Mac and Jessi headed to his apartment. The cinder block building was nothing special to look at from the outside. On the inside, it was also fairly nondescript. His apartment contained only a few accouterments, such as a couch and a Simpsons poster, that showed that this was, in fact, someone's home.

After entering the apartment, Mac punched in a code on a keypad next to the door. He saw Jessi wince for an instant as the device fired up.

"Could you hear that?" he asked.

"I still can," she replied. "I'm ignoring it now. I just wasn't expecting it before."

"But it's ultrasonic," he protested. "It's a surveillance equipment scrambler and electronic countermeasure unit _way_ beyond what's commercially available."

"Yeah, and I heard it loud and clear," Jessi retorted.

Mac made another mental note about her hearing, but decided to not press the subject.

"If it's not commercially available, how did _you_ get it?" Jessi grilled.

"I, uh, made it myself. Plus I've got some ... connections," Mac humbly informed her. "Let's move inside and have a seat."

They proceeded to the couch in his living room area and each took a seat on an end. After taking a few sips of his coffee before placing it in front of himself on the coffee table, Mac brought back up the subject from before.

"So, why are you so afraid to show what you can do?" he finally initiated.

"Well, my father was preparing me for a meeting with a secret society," she started.

"What are they called," Mac interrupted, a foreboding feeling building in his chest.

"Latnok," Jessi replied, noticing a little of the tension relax from Mac's body. "We were going to give them a demonstration of my abilities. However, before we did the test, I found out he was really just using me to impress them. When my friend Kyle found my mother for me, I decided to go away with her and hide. That's why we moved here. I don't know what would happen if he, or they, found me, so I need to stay under the radar."

"So, what else can you do?" Mac pried.

"Well, you've seen the increased speed and extremely sensitive hearing. I have a photographic memory and can access it like a hologram, traveling forwards and backwards through it and view it from different angles. I can also walk on water," she told him.

"And leap tall buildings in a single bound?" he joked.

"No, my jumping ability isn't much beyond normal, but I can free climb them, and I've jumped off a 3 story building several times with no ill effects," she revealed. "I also helped a friend block the pain from a bad leg."

"Wow," Mac intoned. "How did you learn to do all of this?"

"Kyle taught me most of it. Some of it I've found I could do on my own. I'm still not sure what all of my capabilities are," she conceded.

"So, how is it that you know quantum physics," Mac finally broached, bring the conversation back around to their topic from earlier in the day.

"I'm not sure," she honestly answered. "I guess it's leftover from knowledge downloaded into my brain."

At that, Mac couldn't help but flinch. Jessi noticed it and immediately pounced. "It's happened to you, too, hasn't it?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny that," Mac hedged.

"Why not?" Jessi pressed.

"It's classified," Mac declared.

"Oh," Jessi simply said, reaching out and putting her hand on his shoulder.

Mac turned to look at her and noticed her eyes go wide. "What?" he demanded.

"A giant pair of black hands came out of some device on a wall and grabbed you, downloading knowledge into your brain!" Jessi whispered.

"What? Why would you say that?" Mac roared.

"I read your thoughts," she sheepishly informed him.

"How?" he yelled, quite upset and more than a little disturbed.

"When I touched you, I was able to look into your memory," she admitted.

"Whoa," Mac said in awe, jerking away at the same time. "What else did you see?"

"You're a clone created by an alien!" Jessi squeaked out.

"Oh, is that it?" Mac quipped.

"Yeah, that's it. Nothing else," she assured him. "That was what you were thinking about at the time, so I could see it."

"You can't tell anyone!" he commanded. "Not that most people would believe you anyway, but you still can't tell _anyone_!"

"You think another secret society would try to take you, don't you?" Jessi deduced. When Mac shot her another sharp look, she explained that she had just observed, not read his mind again.

"It might be the same one. The last I heard, they were calling themselves 'The Trust', but it could be the same people," Mac supplied.

"I promise I'll do everything in my power to prevent you from ever getting taken," Jessi avowed.

"I promise I'll do the same for you," Mac reciprocated.

"So, tell me about these aliens," Jessi implored.

"Like I said before, it's classified," Mac replied.

"Do you want me to just read your mind again?" she shot back.

"Alright, fine, have it your way," he groused. "They're called the Asgard, and some of them are personal friends of mine. Not the one who did this to me, though. They think I'm advanced."

At the advanced comment, Mac puffed his chest a little while Jessi just laughed.

"Advanced, huh?" she countered. "Can you do this?"

Jessi stuck her hand out, and Mac's coffee cup slid across the table and into her hand.

"Whoa!" Mac cried out.

"You liked that? Well, check this out!" she gushed.

In a moment, both of their coffee cups started to levitate. Mac turned a shocked and appreciative face to Jessi. His good mood vanished instantly when he saw her nose start to bleed.

"Jessi, stop!" he ordered.

"I'm fine," she protested.

"No, you're not. What you can do may be incredible, but I don't want to see you hurt yourself," he soothed.

"That's why I need to keep doing strength training. My mind can handle it, but my body is still too weak," she clarified.

Mac saw the weariness in her face. He quickly scooted down the couch and pulled Jessi into a hug. "I'll help you with that, I promise. Just no more tonight, please?" he entreated.

"OK," she relented. For several minutes they sat in silence, each drawing comfort from their companion.

"So, how did you do that floating thing?" Mac inquired when his curiosity at last got the better of him. "Magnets?"

"Manipulating gravity," Jessi said.

"Hmm," Mac thought out loud. "So, in theory, you might be able to manipulate your own gravity and levitate or even fly?"

"Maybe. But I'm not strong enough to try yet," Jessi clarified. "The last time I did something on that scale, I…" She shuddered, but didn't continue.

"What happened, Jessi?" Mac prompted.

She turned her eyes to look at him. "I died."

"Who brought you back?" was all Mac asked.

"Kyle," she responded. When Mac didn't freak out, Jessi was surprised. In fact, he seemed very accepting of someone dying and yet not being dead, as though he'd had experience.

"You've died before too!" Jessi gasped. When he turned his head and gave her a surprised and disappointed look, she continued. "Sorry, I didn't do it intentionally. An image of you coming back to life in some sort of large box just popped into my head. But you weren't you. You were an old man. Mac, what's going on? Who was that?"

Mac sighed. "You know how I'm a clone? Well, my original isn't a teenager. He's a fifty-some year old man. I have all of his memories, up until about 2 years ago. Because of my genetic advancements, the Asgard safeguarded my DNA so no one would mess with it. Well, Loki, the scientist that did this to me, didn't know about it. When he cloned me to study the original, this body only grew to age 15."

"Wow," was all Jessi could say.

"Oh, wait," Mac jumped in again. "It gets better. Not only did I only grow to 15, he messed up the copy machine. Without the help of some of the other Asgard, I would have died. They managed to fix Loki's mistakes and repair this body."

"Loki? The Norse god of mischief?" Jessi inquired.

"The very same," Mac acknowledged. "My buddy Thor managed to fix me, though, and sent me back here."

"I'm the result of a science project gone too far myself," Jessi finally divulged.

"How so?" Mac prompted.

"I was grown in a lab until I was about 16. In an artificial womb. I've only really been alive about a year," she confessed.

Mac turned his face to Jessi and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah. I was created at a place called Zyzzx. They theorized that with extra gestation time, they could produce people with off-the-chart mental and physical abilities. They were right," she proudly stated.

Mac made a mental note to do some research on Latnok and Zyzzx to see if there were any flags that went off in the SGC databases.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, Mac with his arm around Jessi's shoulder and her with an arm around his waist. Each person drew strength from knowing that there was someone that knew at least some of their secrets and hadn't run away completely freaked out.

"Did you still want to do some sparring?" Jessi finally questioned.

"No, I'm a bit drained," Mac responded. "Plus I just realized it's getting kind of late and we never ate dinner. Want to go grab a pizza?"

"That sounds great," Jessi agreed.

~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~

"I've really enjoyed spending the evening with you," Mac said as he pulled his truck up to Jessi's house after dinner.

"Me too," she readily professed. "With dinner and sparkling conversation, what more could you ask for in a date?" she teased with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Listen, Jessi," he started as they walked to her door. "You're a great girl, but this is a little weird for me. I mean, I may look like a teenager, but remember that I've got the memories and thought patterns of a 50 year old, and all the baggage that comes with that. And even though you look like a teenager, too, you're really only like 1 year old. I'm not sure I can do this."

Jessi looked into his eyes and saw the sincerity and the pain that it caused him. The counterarguments she had been about to use, that she also had memories of another life, died on her lips. "I understand. We'll take it slow and see what happens," she promised. The look of relief that crossed Mac's face made Jessi tingle inside.

"Well, have a nice evening," he said as they reached the front porch. "I'll see you at school tomorrow. Maybe we'll get our sparring in tomorrow afternoon?"

"I'd like that," she admitted.

When Mac went to give Jessi a hug good night, he was quite surprised when she grabbed his face and planted a huge kiss on him. After a good 30 seconds, when his brain finally took control again, Mac took a step back.

"Wait a minute!" he bellowed. "What about taking it slow?"

"Patience isn't one of my strong points," Jessi confessed, taking a step towards him and getting ready to kiss him again.

Mac grabbed her shoulders and stopped her. "Listen, Jessi. You're beautiful, and smart, and I really do like you, but I just can't do this right now. Not yet, at least. Let me have some time to adjust and think about this, about us," he plead.

Jessi wanted to protest, but she could see in his eyes that it would be a bad idea. She nodded her head, turned around, and opened the door.

"Sleep well," Mac bid her as he walked away.

"Somnus bene, mea amator," Jessi called as he climbed into his truck.

"Ego teneo Latin, cara!" Mac called back as he started the truck. The look of surprise on her face as he drove away was priceless.

~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~

Published 12-07-08

Updated 12-27-10


	4. Messing With His Mind

Author's Note:

I finally found some inspiration to continue this story. Actually, I've had this part written for quite a while, but it took me forever to find a beta that wasn't too busy to help. And then I got it back and have been having massive computer issues...

Anyway, big thanks to UndeadSamurai01 for giving me the kick in the pants to get this going again. And for reading this like 3 months ago to get the bugs out. And for convincing me that, even with this next part, the story isn't completely done, so there will be more to come sooner or later...

~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~

The next day after school, Mac and Jessi went to his apartment and had the sparring session that they had originally planned for the previous night. They cleared the space by moving the furniture to the side of the room and laid down some mats before they began to rapidly trade blows. Almost as soon as they started physically sparring, Jessi started mentally probing her partner as well. Much to her surprise, she found that he was able to shield his mind from most of her attacks. He wasn't counterattacking, but he was quite capable of defending. He didn't even seem to be aware that he was doing it. After they finished their session Jessi's curiosity got the better of her.

"How were you able to shield against my mental probes?" she asked.

"Oh, is that what you were doing?" Mac said.

"Yes. How?" Jessi prodded.

"Beats me," Mac replied with a shrug. "The Asgard seem to enjoy tinkering me, so maybe it's something they did."

"Will you let me take a look and see what I can find?" Jessi inquired.

Mac was silent for half a minute as he debated the idea internally. Jessi was certain he was going to refuse, so she was quite surprised when he shrugged his shoulders again and said, "Sure, why not? But I have to warn you, some of my memories are not pretty or are just too private and I'd rather you stay out of them."

"There are things that I've done that I'm not proud of, either," Jessi admitted. "I'll focus on your physiology, OK?"

Mac nodded and moved over to the couch. Jessi was just a step behind him.

"Let me hold your hands," Jessi suggested as she rotated to face him, palms out and up. She felt Mac tense next to her. "I need a physical connection, remember?" she reminded him.

He relaxed a little, turned, and placed his hands over hers. Immediately, he felt the probing of his mind again. Now that he knew what it was, he relaxed at let Jessi into his mind. There were still areas that he kept walled up, like his times as a prisoner, some of the distasteful missions that he'd been sent on and memories of his family and friends, but he let her into the less sensitive areas. He was even more surprised that he didn't feel much apprehension about letting someone else read his mind.

Jessi found out a couple of very interesting things as she examined Mac's mind. Even though he had mostly relaxed to let her in, his mind was still resistant to her attempts at "hacking." Her best guess after trying a few different strategies with varying degrees of success was that it was a byproduct of having the repository of Ancient knowledge downloaded into his brain. It had changed his physiology in order to prevent exactly this scenario – someone else trying to access the database through his mind. Those changes had apparently been copied when he was cloned. She also found that the download had not been "removed" as the Asgard, Jack, and Mac had claimed but was simply blocked.

When she pulled out of Mac's mind and told him what she'd discovered, he immediately cottoned on to the implications. "So, if it's you can access a repressed memory, I should remember it, too, right?"

"I think so," she replied. "I should be able to get your body to rebuild the connections in the brain."

"And if that information contains an explanation of how the Ancients used one of their funky abilities, I should be able to use that, right?" he continued.

"Maybe," she hedged. At his frown, she explained her thoughts. "I don't know much about how these Ancients developed their powers. If they're physical evolutions, we'd have to have our bodies manipulated either by us or by someone else. Most of my abilities are based on mental concentration, though, so if they were similar, you should be able to do the same thing. Kyle once told me that his father/tutor, Adam, said that in the future, everyone may be able to do what we can do. It's because of our abnormally high amount of brain activity that we can manifest our abilities."

"That fits with what I know of the Ancients, too," Mac agreed. He paused for a moment before asking, "If you can do this without almost killing me, why couldn't the Ancients?"

"Well, I do have knowledge of human physiology and limitations. I'm sure that they were expecting someone exactly like them and programmed their machines that way," she reasoned.

"That makes sense," he said. "But just in case, let's go slow. I don't want to almost die from information overload again. First, let's try one that I know I've seen before. See if you can find the information on how they do healing."

"OK!" Jessi said excitedly. She closed her eyes and dove back into Mac's mind. She could tell that all of the downloaded knowledge was structured but was having trouble navigating through it all. Eventually, she hit pay dirt and found something like a table of contents. Since it was in Ancient, she was only able to decipher some of it. Keeping in mind where she was, she moved to the language center of Mac's brain and searched for the Ancient language. When she located it, she took a few moments to restore connections for Mac and then also downloaded it into her own mind.

With her newfound knowledge of Ancient, Jessi returned to the "Download Directory." She restored that for Mac as well. While he may not have been able to traverse all of the data yet, she knew he'd be interested to see what was there. As she navigated her way to the physical abilities, something caught her eye. She made the connections for it and then backed out of Mac's mind.

"Whoa!" Mac gasped. "That's a lot to take in at once."

"You're telling me? I've had a whole personality and memory set downloaded before," Jessi reminded him. "Now, let's give your new power a try."

"What exactly did you do? I know you must have found some sort of table of contents because I felt that wash over me, but what else did you do?" Mac asked.

Jessi stood up and smirked at him. "You'll see in a second," she said as she went to his kitchen to retrieve a couple bottles of water. She opened one and took a sip before whipping around to hurl the other at him.

"Ack!" Mac cried as he flung his arms in front of his face.

The water bottle didn't hit him.

When moved his arms, he found it hovering six inches from his nose. "That was dirty!" he scolded.

"I'm not the one holding it there," Jessi shot back.

Mac cocked his head to the side. He gestured up with the palm of his hand and saw the bottle rise. He turned his hand and watched it tumble over in the air. "Sweet! Mind powers!"

As he lifted his hand again, Jessi gave a strangled cry. She was suddenly no longer standing on solid ground. Instead, she was being held aloft by another force. "Hey! Don't make me wring your scrawny neck!"

"I'd like to see you try!" Mac taunted back. "Don't forget, I'm a highly trained soldier. And, as we just proved while sparing, I am quite capable of defending myself against you."

After 15 seconds of laughter as he watched her flail about, Mac finally let Jessi down.

He was promptly hit by a flying tackle and laid flat on the couch.

With a few deft movements, he had flipped positions and had Jessi in a submission hold.

"Relax, Jessi," he ordered.

She wiggled against him for a few moments before finally relaxing. "Fine, I give."

Mac stood up and pulled Jessi up as well.

And promptly found himself on his back on the couch again. This time, though, Jessi was trying to kiss him.

Mac again flipped Jessi over, pinning her legs and arms.

"Jessi, stop!" Mac chastised. "Did I not make myself clear before?"

Jessi pouted at him.

"I'm still not comfortable dating. If I was to date someone my physical age, I'd be seeing a toddler. If it was a woman my mental age, I'd be looking for a grandma. Dating a teenager still just feels so... wrong. I really do like you, Jessi. I've never met anyone like you before, and that's saying something. And I value your friendship, especially in this new life. I just can't give you anything more than that right now. I'm sorry. I know you want more, but I can't give it to you. Please understand," Mac implored.

Jessi stretched out her senses and felt the honesty and confusion behind his statements. Grudgingly, she finally nodded her acceptance. She would back off for now in order to achieve her final objective. She would play the waiting game for now, all the while laying the groundwork for the future.

~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~

Published 12-27-10


	5. Second Verse, Same as the First

The next day, Jessi and Mac followed the same routine. After a strenuous workout, they took a seat on the couch. Jessi took Mac's hands and proceeded to reenter his mind. She set about unlocking more powers in his mind. The first one that she enabled was telepathy, followed closely by healing. Before she could continue looking for more abilities to be unleashed, though, Mac collapsed backwards on the couch.

"Mac!" she cried in shock.

A groan was the only verbal response she got, but with the biofeedback she was still receiving, it was enough to show that he was still awake and alive. Thinking of what she would want if the situations were reversed, she got up and went in to the kitchen to grab a couple water bottles before going to the bathroom and grabbing some Aspirin. When she returned, he had struggled back into a sitting position and was rubbing his head.

"I think that's enough rewiring of my brain for one day," he wryly stated. "And I think we may want to slow down on the whole process. Maybe one a day, or even one every few days, will be better so my body can adjust a little more gradually."

"All right," Jessi agreed. She handed him the water and the pills, which he readily accepted. She continued to fix him with a worried expression. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine," he huffed. "I knew that actually _healing_ people was a drain, but I didn't realize that learning how would wipe you out just as much."

"Are you ready to test your new abilities?" she asked excitedly as she started to get up.

"No!" he shouted.

Jessi jumped at his cry and then slumped back down in disappointment.

"Sorry, Jessi. I didn't mean to yell at you," Mac apologized. "Two things, though. First, I'm still not up to it. Second, I don't want you doing anything to hurt yourself, even if I can fix it."

"I'm not incapable of doing some healing myself, don't forget!" Jessi snapped. "You aren't the only one that's stretching their limits here."

Mac dropped his head for a moment before looking up to stare straight into her eyes. "You're right. I just… I need to protect you. It's who I am. And I can _feel_ your restlessness. I can see in your eyes that you want to go full steam ahead, consequences be damned. But I've spent too many years looking after people to just let reckless actions go unchallenged. Trust me; a little patience will not only make things safer but also more satisfying in the end."

Somehow, Jessi didn't think they were still talking about only the mental tinkering.

"You know that goes against my nature, right?" Jessi asked with a hint of a smile.

"I know," Mac nodded solemnly. "But I'm asking you to have faith in me. And don't forget, I have lived like 50 times longer than you, so I may have an idea of what I'm talking about."

Jessi thought about that for a minute. "I'll try," she said when she looked into Mac's eyes.

It may not have been much, but he knew that was the most that Jessi could honestly give him. With that, he decided to call it a night.

~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~

Published 12-07-08


	6. One Fateful Day

Over the next 6 weeks, Mac and Jessi became practically inseparable.

Jessi trained every day with the Cross Country team, though only Mac knew the reason why she refused to actually join the team. He suggested that she could try _not_ to win at the meets, but she steadfastly refused. She knew that her competitive streak would make her do something that could get her noticed. They continued to meet after practice for additional training time as well.

On their lunch period, Mac and Jessi could usually be found in a remote corner of the Cafeteria discussing concepts from both theoretical and applied sciences. There might have been a few students (and only a handful of teachers) in the school able to understand the concepts that they were discussing, but they were unable to keep up with the rapid-fire conversation and the almost supernatural speed at which they were able to discuss concepts at or beyond the reach of popular science.

During their Study Hall, they could usually be found side-by-side in the Library reading books on philosophy, ancient history, quantum theory, or anything else that struck their fancy.

The thing that was most off-putting to other people was that their conversations were rarely in English. Since Mac had a lifetime of experience globe trotting (and galaxy trotting) and Jessi could retain everything she ever read, they were using each other to practice and become more proficient in foreign languages. Each day, they seemed to be speaking a new language. One day it would be Arabic, the next Mandarin, then Hebrew, Farsi, Latin, Hungarian, Ancient, or Greek. Occasionally they used some of the more common languages like Spanish, French, and German, but usually they preferred the more esoteric ones. Mac had even taught Jessi a smattering of written and spoken Goa'uld based on dictionaries that Daniel had written for use by SGC personnel. Mac had taken to secretly augmenting them while he was bored. He figured that someday he'd give them to Daniel and shock him speechless. Mac was definitely looking forward to reveling in the gape-mouthed look on the archaeologist's face.

Jessi didn't bother to tell him that she had pulled the full Goa'uld language (as well as all his other known languages) from his head early in their training sessions. He seemed to be enjoying actually teaching her the language. As it was drawing them closer together, she didn't mind.

What no one else knew was that they were also carrying on telepathic conversations throughout the school day. After a few days of practice while working out, Mac and Jessi had refined their skills enough that they could use their link to relieve some of their boredom during school. They gave no outward signs that they were otherwise occupied, answering questions and making notes in their classes. No one would understand that the schoolwork that was supposed to be teaching them was actually just leaving them feeling blasé. How could they understand that Mac had already learned the material in High School the first time around and Jessi could read and remember everything in her textbooks in a matter of minutes. So, instead of taking lecture notes in class, they were jotting down theories that would leave most advanced scientific researchers baffled and bouncing them off of each other at the same time.

With Homecoming fast approaching, Jessi was getting impatient with Mac's reluctance to further their relationship. After the events the evening of the first day that they met, Mac had taken great care to avoid any similar situations that could be construed as romantic. Though they spent nearly every waking moment together, he hadn't even asked her if she wanted to go to the dance as just friends.

One day in early October, Mac called in sick to school. Jessi knew he wasn't really sick because she had checked him just the night before while unlocking a new skill, pyrokinesis. He wouldn't respond to her telekinetic thoughts or answer his cell phone. After her classes were over, Jessi set out to track him down. It didn't take too long before she could find his location with mental pings. She was surprised to discover that he was sitting in a graveyard. She could feel the waves of grief rolling off of him as he knelt in front of a grave. After standing in the shadows watching him for almost 10 minutes, she turned to leave.

The voice that broke the silence startled her, making her turn and look. A grey-haired man stood next to her, appearing as if from nowhere.

"His name was Charlie. He was my son," the man said quietly. "Today was his birthday."

As Jessi looked at the man more closely, she realized she had seen the face before. It was the one that lived in Mac's memories.

"Mr. MacGyver?" she asked.

"The one and only," he said with a forced-looking smile. "Well, OK, not the one and only, but you already knew that. You must be Jessi. It's actually General O'Neill, but you can call me Jack."

"You know you can come and join me," Mac called out without turning around.

Without hesitation, Jack started across the 100 feet to the grave. When he reached the headstone, he leaned down to reverently trace the letters of the boy's name. As he finished, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a new baseball that he set in a holder next to the stone. He noticed that there was also a fresh bouquet of flowers from Sarah and a new Cubs hat that must have come from Mac.

Jessi stayed back, letting the two men have their private moment. She looked carefully at the headstone, taking in all of the information that it provided. Looking at the dates of birth and death, realization finally struck.

"Yes, Jessi, that's why," Mac confirmed, still not looking up from where he was seated. "Just the thought of dating someone that would be younger than my son has always creeped me out. Now you can see why I kept those memories shielded from you, too."

"I think I finally understand," Jessi murmured.

Mac finally turned and looked at her. His piercing brown eyes seemed to be peering into her soul. After a minute, he waved her forward. She stepped up beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. In move that surprised Jessi, he reached up and placed his hand over hers. "Thank you, Jessi. It really means a lot that you came to find me today. And I know it was hard for you to stand there for so long without saying or doing anything. Yes, I knew you were there, and I appreciate your silent support while you let me work through things on my own."

Jessi was choked up and didn't know what to say to that. "You know I'd do anything for you, right, Mac?" Jessi finally whispered.

"I do now," he said, gracing her with his first smile of the day.

~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~

Published 12-07-08


	7. Close Encounters

One moment there were three people standing by the grave and the next there were only two.

While Jessi was blinking away the effects of the brilliant white light that had lit up the area and trying to figure out where Jack had gone, she heard Mac bellow "Thor!"

A moment later the cemetery around her washed out, only to be replaced by a hauntingly familiar space ship. The next thing she noticed was the incensed voice of General Jack O'Neill.

"... can't just keep beaming people up whenever you feel like it!" Jack shouted, obviously in the middle of a rant. Gesturing to Jessi, he added "Especially civilians!"

"I did not beam her or your clone aboard," Thor protested.

"Then how did they get here?" Jack demanded.

"Uh, I think I did that," Mac admitted.

Jack's eyes narrowed dangerously. "And how, pray tell, did you manage to do that, Jon?"

"I sort of hacked into Thor's ship," he answered. "With my mind."

"What?" Jack cried.

"It is theoretically possible, O'Neill," Thor stated. "The Asgard have some degree of control over our ships telepathically. It is derived from the Ancients' control interface. I believe that is how MacGyver was able to access the beaming controls, though I am as shocked as you that he was able to exhibit such powers."

"How come I can't do that?" Jack whined.

"I am unsure," Thor replied.

Jack let out a huff. "Well, since I'm here, what was it that you wanted from me?"

"Actually, I was going to ask if I could speak with MacGyver and his partner," Thor responded. "Since they brought themselves, I will return you to the surface."

Before Jack could voice his protest, he was gone, leaving Mac, Jessi and Thor alone on the command deck.

"So, what's up, buddy?" Mac asked.

"Who is your companion?" Thor questioned.

"Ah, sorry," Mac apologized. "Thor, this is Jessi. Jessi, this is Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard fleet and one of our best allies."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Jessi," Thor stated.

"Uh, yeah, uh, you too," Jessi said, breaking the shocked stupor she'd been in the entire time she'd been on the ship.

"Now, tell me how you were able to access my ship," Thor demanded.

"Well, it seems that Jack and I still have all of the knowledge of the Ancients buried in my subconscious," Mac said.

"Of this I am aware," Thor stated. "There was no way to remove the information imparted to you by the Ancient repository. We merely disabled access by the conscious mind."

"Well, for the last 6 weeks, Jessi and I have been rebuilding the connections," Mac explained.

"That is not possible," Thor said in shock. "There is no technology on Earth capable of such a thing."

"Well, obviously it is possible, since we've been doing it," Jessi shot back. "And we didn't use any technology. We did it using my control over the body on a cellular level and by affecting minor alterations on a genetic level."

Thor pressed a few buttons on the console in front of him. "This is amazing. My initial scan revealed that you were an advanced human. That is the reason I wished to speak with you. However, the detailed scan I have just performed exceeds anything I have ever seen from an Earthling."

Jessi turned to smirk at Mac. "Ha! I told you I was more advanced!" she gloated.

Not to be outdone, Mac asked Thor to scan him as well. The results caused Thor to gasp.

"Your results show a similar level of development to Jessi," he said in awe. "Since the time of your cloning you have progressed in ways that should have taken many generations. You now more closely resemble an Ancient than even the most advanced humans."

"Sweet!" Mac and Jessi said at the same time.

"It is indeed very exciting," Thor agreed. "I have also found that Jessi possesses the genetic makeup to activate the technology of the Ancients. Do you know what this means?"

"She can use the chair or fly one of those Gateships?" Mac remarked.

"While that is true, the implications are much greater," Thor replied. "A child produced with your combined attributes could provide the missing link to solve our genetic degradation. Your offspring would be able to handle an Asgard consciousness as well as be able to access pieces of our technology that we have been unable to use for millennia!"

"Whoa! Hold on there, buddy!" Mac shouted as he turned to look at Jessi. Her face displayed a rapid series of emotions; shock, intrigue, excitement, anticipation, fear, and finally wistfulness.

"We're not even dating yet!" Mac protested. "And I think we're a bit young to be having kids."

"I was given to understand that the act of procreation was quite enjoyable for your species. Is it not a favorite pastime and form of recreation among your people?" Thor asked in confusion.

Mac coughed. "Um, yeah, it is, but there's a lot more to it than that."

"And as interested as I am, and I really, really am interested, I don't think I'm ready to be pregnant right now," Jessi added. "And I don't think I will be any time in the near future."

"If the discomfort and inconvenience of being pregnant is your objection, there are a number of solutions that we can offer," Thor cajoled. "We could enclose you in a reverse time dilation field so that your life on Earth would not be interrupted by the gestation process. Or we could create and grow the child artificially in a lab."

"I know it's been a long time since the Asgard have been able to reproduce, but having children is also a lot of responsibility, and it's best when the parents are in a loving, stable, committed relationship," Mac explained, trying to get Thor to understand.

He turned to look in Jessi's eyes as he continued. "After today, I think I've finally accepted the idea of a relationship. But I want to take it slowly. And I'd like to start by taking you to Homecoming, if you're interested."

Jessi's face split into a huge smile as she listened to Mac. She gave him a nod before throwing her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug.

Mac turned in her arms to face Thor again. "If everything goes well, maybe we'll be able to help you some time in the future. Just not right now."

Thor interrupted their embrace. "I understand your reluctance, but this is extremely important to the Asgard. A solution must be found very soon to our problem or it will be too late. I am afraid we do not have time to wait for you to age and become ready. We cannot afford to risk the possibility that you may never reproduce on your own."

"You've got computers that scanned us, right?" Jessi asked.

"We do," Thor responded.

"Well, why can't you just use our scan results to run simulations on how our children would turn out?" she inquired.

Thor frowned. He took a few moments to think about the proposed solution. "I had not considered that. I will have to return with a scientific research vessel, but with our most detailed scans, I believe I can do as you suggest. It may not produce the results that we desire or exactly the same results as a natural conception, but we will attempt it first."

Mac gave a sigh of relief. "Great! With that settled, I think it's about time-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he and Jessi vanished.

~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~-,._.,-~'`^`'~

Published 12-07-08


End file.
